The United States markets are largely stable but will be tested over the next week or so due to the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers event in San Antonio, Texas. European demand has improved somewhat, whereas that of Asia has declined slightly.-by Adrian Brown

The Association of Indonesian Lubricants Distributors, Importers and Producers (Perdippi) is taking legal actions to try to nullify a mandatory national lubricant standard, SNI, scheduled to take effect Sept. 11.

Indian grease manufacturers, like their counterparts in other countries, have for the past couple years bemoaned sharp increases in the costs of lithium, the chemical used to thicken most of the worlds greases. A speaker at an industry conference in Guwahati, India, last month advised companies to consider using aluminum complex grease instead in certain applications.

State-owned Thai Oil Group reported that profit for its base oil business slumped last year and that it expects the market to continue to soften throughout this year.